LAS VEGAS (AP) — Not many second-year players receive this kind of respect from opposing pitchers, but it doesn’t take long to realize Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz is already one of baseball’s top sluggers.
And thus the Barry Bonds treatment, or at least something close to it, when pitchers don’t give Kurtz much to hit, willing to live with having him walk to first than jog around the bases.
His 64 walks through Wednesday led the major leagues and were one more than he had in the 117 games last season when he was the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. Pitchers also have intentionally walked Kurtz eight times, second only to the nine by Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, the AL home run leader.
And the power is still there for Kurtz, who has 15 home runs this season. While not on pace to match the 36 he hit last year, his 49 RBIs lead the majors as does his .438 on-base percentage.
Most impressively, Kurtz earlier this season tied Mark McGwire’s 30-year-old club record of 48 consecutive games reaching base.
“He’s the most advanced hitter at this age that I’ve been around,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of the 23-year-old slugger. “He never goes to search for hits. He waits for pitches that he feels good about swinging at. Knowing the strike zone as well as he does is pretty remarkable.”
This approach by opposing pitchers isn’t new to Kurtz, who began to watch other teams use similar strategies when he starred at Wake Forest.
“I think that’s where I started learning how to do it and just taking the walks,” Kurtz said. ”It’s not always easy because you always want to stay aggressive when you do get that pitch. If you’re not aggressive, you will miss it.”
Kurtz is among the talented young players the A’s are showcasing for their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028. They are at Las Vegas Ballpark, home to the organization’s Triple-A affiliate, this week and took two of three against Milwaukee with their 4-3 win on Wednesday night. Colorado visits for a three-game series beginning Friday.
Kurtz gave Las Vegas fans plenty to look forward to by hitting two homers in Monday’s 15-14, 12-inning loss to the Brewers and then hit another one the following night in a 7-5 victory.
Kurtz also walked at least once in each game in the series and four times overall. He has reached base that way in eight of nine games this month.
“You never see it, somebody his age doing what he’s doing,” A’s catcher Shea Langeliers said. “Unbelievably rare. Just to be able to watch him do his thing and not really even blossom. It was kind of who he already was when he got to the league, so it’s really cool. Obviously, we’re really lucky to be his teammates and not calling pitches against him.”
It didn’t take long for Kurtz to shoot through the Athletics’ system.
They drafted him fourth overall in June 2024, and by the following year, he played 20 games in Las Vegas and then was promoted to the A’s, where he hasn’t looked back.
Kurtz not only met but likely exceeded expectations.
His true breakout game occurred last July 25 at Houston when he went 6 for 6 with four homers, eight RBIs, six runs and a record-tying 19 total bases.
There were discussions about whether it was the greatest performance in MLB history. That is until Shohei Ohtani homered three times, had 12 total bases and from the mound struck out 10 over six shutout innings in an NL Championship Series game.
Kurtz doesn’t have the spotlight on him like the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar — what MLB player does? — and playing most of his home games in a Triple-A park in West Sacramento, California, doesn’t generate much exposure.
But other pitchers are more than aware of him, and Kurtz will continue to try to make the most of his opportunities whenever they come.
The best outcome often is simply taking the walk to first.
“I’m totally fine if you want to pitch around me,” Kurtz said. “You still got other guys in the lineup who can do a whole of hitting, so it makes it really easy for me to just take my walks and score some runs.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Mark Anderson, The Associated Press
